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India's head coach Gautam Gambhir believes the Indian batting group should have the ability to handle pressure in tough sessions in the longest format of cricket after his side failed to chase 124 runs in the fourth innings of the first Test against South Africa.
He futher noted that India playing in home conditions and while chasing in the fourth inning is something that needs to improve. India's first home Test against South Africa ended in a disappointing 30-run defeat in just three days in Kolkata. The match, played at Eden Gardens, saw South Africa's spinner Simon Harmer claim an eight-wicket haul, and Temba Bavuma score a gritty half-century, leading the Proteas to a 1-0 series lead. "International cricket is all about pressure. Rather than thinking about pressure, you've got to start embracing pressure. And that is something which, when we play on wickets like these or when we play in Indian conditions, when we are chasing in the fourth inning, that is something which we need to get better at," Gautam Gambhir told the reporters. India's defeat at Eden Gardens also placed the match in a statistical context, as the target of 124 became the second-lowest total India has failed to chase down in Test history. The lowest remains 120 against the West Indies in Bridgetown in 1997. The result also marked South Africa's second-lowest successful defence in Test cricket. Their lowest remains 117 against Australia in Sydney in 1994. Coming to the match, India bowled out South Africa for 159 after being asked to bowl first on a pitch that offered the bowlers variable bounce and proved to be tough for batting. India, however, found batting just as hard and were dismissed for 189. KL Rahul top-scored with a gritty 39 while Rishabh Pant helped with a quick 27 off just 24 balls. Ravindra Jadeja's 27-run innings also helped India gain a 30-run lead. For South Africa, Harmer stood out with a four-wicket haul, while Marco Jansen claimed three wickets. Trailing by 30 runs, South Africa posted 153 in their second innings, giving India a target of 124. Most of the visiting batters found Jadeja's spin difficult to handle, but captain Temba Bavuma showed resilience with a gritty 55, the only half-century of the match. Bosch added a valuable 25 to keep the innings going. Jadeja finished with figures of 4 for 50 from 20 overs, while Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj picked up two wickets each, and Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah took one apiece. (ANI)
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